Darkest Betrayal
by GatorgirlFL16
Summary: Rose has been stripped of everything that she has ever known. Her mother is dead, her brother is a traitor, and her father has deserted her. As she travels across America she meets another Demigod, Nico di Angelo, will this boy be a friend or foe? the story is full of betrayal, love, and action fall in love with the tantalizing story of a young girl in the fight of her life.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or any of the characters form Rick Riordan's stories (I wish I did though)

Darkest Betrayal

(Part One: Rose)

Rose sat down in an alleyway in New York City. Her clothes were ragged and dirty from running and her sword Nightmare was at her side. The celestial bronze and stygian iron blade gleamed in the fading sunlight. She looked up at the sky. "Why me, why did this happen to me?" she whispered. As she started to close her eyes a flash of warm golden light made her jump. With Nightmare at the ready she looked around for the cause of the light. Who she saw wasn't a threat, it was Lady Hestia. "My lady." She said bowing to the visiting goddess.

"Rise my dear, there is no need for formalities. I have come to ask you not to give up hope." she said smiling. "My brother dose not know we are here so we are safe for the time being." Rose spat on the ground at the mention of Zeus, king of the gods. Zeus had caused her so much trouble and inconvenience these past couple years that she despised him. "I know that you have had so many hardships in your life, but now everything is going to change. When you wake up there will be two boys here, you must convince them both to help you. You will need them to succeed in your coming quest."

"Wait what quest?" Rose asked but Hestia answer just touched the middle of her forehead. The last thing she felt was Hestia gently laying her down on the ground before she fell into a deep sleep.

(Part Two: Rose)

Rose woke up to a cold sword pointed at her neck. She slowly opened her eyes to see the two boys that Hestia said would be there. Both had dark brown hair but one had sea green eyes and the other dark brown eyes. She tried to grab her sword but the green eyed one blocked her path. The other boy held his sword at her neck. Hestia said that these she needed to convince the boys to help her; but she wasn't sure exactly how she was going to do that if they were pointing swords at her right of the bat.

"Come on get up." Green eyes said nudging her with his foot. She just stared at him; this was going to be fun. "Get up now!" he shouted. When she still didn't get up a second time he pulled his foot back to kick her but Rose didn't give him time. She jumped up off the ground and tackled the boy with green eyes. The other one fell back in surprise as the two wrestled on the ground trying to get an advantage over the other. Rose was winning the fight until the brown eyed one got over his shock and pulled her off of the other boy. He threw her against the wall and pinned her arms. "Hurry up Percy, get the Restraints." He said.

"What's this all about huh?" Rose asked slamming her head into his nose. He stumbled backwards clutching his nose. She tried to run out of the alley way but she ran into the other boy, Percy. The force of the impact made her fall onto the alley floor. Percy Jumped on top of her and pinned her arms down.

"Nico, get the rope, hurry." Percy said. Rose struggled underneath his weight as Nico tied her wrists together. Once he decided that she was secure, Percy got off of her and yanked her to her feet. "Nico, grab her sword and open a portal back to camp. We have to get her back ASAP." He said. Nico went over to where Nightmare was laying and tried to pick it up. As soon as his hand touched the metal, he yanked it away. Rose almost laughed aloud.

"You're not going to be able to touch Nightmare unless I allow it." She said.

Percy glared at her but just shook his head. "Forget the sword, it's not like she'll be able to use it." He said.

This time she laughed. "Oh don't worry Nightmare will come back to me, no matter where I am." She smiled. Percy growled in frustration. "Just get over here we need to get back."

Nico slowly walked toward them wiping the blood on his shirt. He stretched out his hand in front of him. Shadow from all around the alley way came toward them and started circulating into Nico's body and started to form a large portal. Once the shadows stopped and the portal was opened, Nico looked like he was going to pass out from exhaustion. "Good work, you okay?" Percy asked. All Nico could manage was a quick nod. "Come on lets go." Percy pushed her forward and she stumbled.

As soon as they entered the portal Rose felt the cold stone on her necklace reappear. She stroked it silently and shivered. "Is it just me or is it absolutely freezing in here?" she asked. Percy glared at her and in the dim light they seemed to glow with an alien light. She didn't say anything more as they exited the portal.

The portal opened up to a brightly lit scene. As her eyes adjusted to the bright light, what she saw amazed her. There were cabins sprawled along the grass valley that lay before them. Kids from the ages probably seven to eighteen roamed around the place ding different activities. Some were lounging around on the beach that surrounded a lake while others were doing various types of sports like archery and volleyball. But what surprised Rose the most was the kids who were practicing hand to hand combat and sword fighting. Most of the kids didn't pay any attention to the three of them but a couple stopped what they were doing and walked with them. All of these kids seemed to be only one or two years older than her at max. Walking together they made their way to a large bunker. Rose kept mulling over what Hestia had told her about getting these people to trust her but so far things weren't going so well.

As Nico and Percy lead her into the bunker she wondered how in the world she was going to get out of this mess. One of the boys who had joined them grabbed a chain that was attached to the wall and clamped it down on her wrist. Nico cut the ropes on her wrists and stepped back. Rose looked at the chain and then back to the group. "Okay, so you got me. What now?" she asked looking from face to face. Nico was the only one to speak. Due to the injury to his nose his voice seemed a little off but not by much. "Look we know you have Thanatos. Just tell us where he is and nothing bad will happen to you." He said.

"Wow I must have hit you harder than I thought." She laughed. "I don't have Thanatos anywhere and I'm almost one hundred percent sure he's in the Underworld with your dad."

"How do you know who my father is?" Nico spat. "Um considering that you just shadow traveled us here and I used to hear your dad brag about you the whole time I was in the underworld it was basically a no brainer." She said. "Look it's been really fun hanging out with you guys and all but I need to be getting back to my search so if you could ju…" Rose stopped mid-sentence as a dagger impaled itself in the wall right next to her head.

A girl with curly blonde hair from the group smirked at her. "You're not going anywhere." She said. Rose yanked the dagger out and looked at the girl. "Okay first off you should never ever give your prisoner a weapon to escape with and second…" she chucked the dagger so close to the girls head that a piece of her blonde hair drifted to the ground. " If you really want to scare someone, I suggest you aim a little closer to their body." The girl looked wide eyed at her and slowly removed the dagger. Another girl from the group, this one with chocolate colored skin and hair spoke up with a shaky voice. "Stop lying and tell us where Thanatos is." She said.

"And what exactly would I gain from lying to you?" Rose asked.

Nico got impatient and drew his sword. "Tell us where he is right now!" he yelled pointing his blade at her chest. Rose calmly grabbed the stone on her necklace and pulled it off. Nightmare grew to full length in her hand. She put her blade up against Nico's. "Put the Sword down Nico, before you get hurt." She said coolly. He didn't back down. "Nico I don't what to hurt you, but if you think my dad is in any type of danger then I have to go find him." She said.

"Your father is Thanatos?" Percy asked amazed. "Yeah who else would put up with having weekly meetings with Hades without getting a splitting headache."

It seemed that Percy was pondering something but Rose couldn't tell what exactly. "Why were you in New York?" He asked. "At first, I was trying to find my lowlife brother but then Hestia came to me and told me that I needed the two of you to help me if I was going to succeed in some sort of quest. If she hadn't have warned me not to kill you both then I probably would have sliced you to bits considering the welcome you gave me."

"You were unconscious when we found you, you would have come with us one way or another. You didn't have a choice." Nico said stepping forward. "Nico I did have a choice but if Lady Hestia said that I needed you two then I trust her. That's the only reason that I'm still here, trying to convince you to help me." Rose said calmly but also taking a step forward.

Let's see how they like this, she thought as she focused her power. She felt her body start to turn into a fine smoke. The chain around her wrist slipped through her arm and clattered to the floor. She reformed back into solid. The look on their faces was priceless. Only Nico wasn't fazed by her turning into a ghost. He stood smiling at her, slowly clapping his hand together. With him not pointing a sword in her face and the way his hair swooped over his forehead and his crooked smile, Rose noticed how cute he actually looked.

"It's amazing that your still alive and can use your powers like that." He said looking Rose up and down as if assessing what she was capable of. "What do you mean?"

Nico just shook his head. "Most children of Thanatos die when they are very young because of a power over dose. Even if they did survive past infancy the minute they use their powers they would wipe out everyone around them and kill themselves in the process." He said not even meeting her eyes. "Well, I guess that just makes me special." Rose said.

By now everyone else in the room was over their shock and listening intently to the conversation. "So what's your story?" Percy asked. "Why do you care?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the wall. "I just would like to know where you came from and if I should even waist my breath trying to keep these guys from attacking you." He said motioning to the group. "I could take you easy." She sneered. "I don't doubt that but still even you would have trouble with more than two of us coming at you at once." He said.

"Fine" she said running her hand down the blade of her sword. "Do you want me to start from the beginning and bore you with my horrible childhood or should I just get straight to the point?" she asked. "Let's just skip to the point shall we."

"Okay then let's see; so my mom was killed by my brother when I was ten, I know lovely right, he almost killed me in the process but Thanatos saved me and brought me to the underworld to heal. I stayed there for three years then my dad sent me out on my own. I wandered from town to town trying to find my brother but didn't get anywhere. Hestia helped me as much as she could but Zeus was watching me so I was mostly by myself. After about two years I wound up here. I guess you can fill in the story from there." she finished. Her voice had cracked when she spoke about her mom but it was now bitter. "So that's my life story, amazing right, now are you going to help me or not?" she huffed.

Most of the group was looking at her sympathetically but Nico still didn't look convinced. "Nice story, but I don't buy it." He said. "Come on do you really expect us to believe that you've been searching for two whole years for someone you claim is your brother and that you haven't seen or heard anything from your father all that time?"

"Yes I do." She paused and started thinking. Who would try to even capture Thanatos, they had to have known that even if they completed the job that they would have everyone looking for them, they'd have to be prepared for this with years of training.

"I know who has Thanatos, and it's not me." She said.

"Yeah like who?"

"The only demigod who could pull it off and not get caught would have to be someone close to him; my brother, Zack."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys most of the time I won't be able to update this fast, I already had this chapter types I just needed to revise it. I'm going to start adding a lot more detail and description to my stories so they'll be longer, but that means more time. Hope you like! :P**

**(Part 3: Rose)**

"Why should we believe you?" Nico asked angrily. Rose sighed; how was she ever going to get this guy to trust her if he thought that everything that she said was a lie?

"Again what would I gain from lying to you?" She was starting to get annoyed with him but she kept her emotions under control. Percy opened his mouth to say something but changed his mind and closed his mouth. "Look Nico I have always done things on my own, I mean come on, fighting monsters and surviving by yourself for two years and then trying to trust someone else to help you with your life is a really hard thing to adjust to. I wouldn't be here asking for your help if Hestia didn't think I needed it. if you don't want to help me that's fine, I'll find someone else, but if you really want to find Thanatos then I'm your best bet at finding him." she stuck her hand out for him to take. "Deal?"

Nico studied her hand and her face for a few moments before reluctantly taking her hand. No smiles came from the group and no one welcomed Rose as Nico released her hand; the only thing that changed was the pressure in the air seemed to lighten and Rose sucked in a breath.

Nico leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I swear if you try anything I will kill you myself."

Rose smirked at him. "Thanks for the Guidelines Nico, I'll try to be a good girl." She said batting her eyelashes. He glared Daggers at her but didn't say anything else and stepped away from her.

"Come on guys I don't know about you but I'm starved." A boy from the group said putting his arm around two other kids from the group. His elvish features and mischievous grin made Rose think twice about letting him near anything sharp.

"Yeah sure; common I'll show you to the dinning pavilion." Percy said taking Rose's hand as the group filled out of the larger bunker door. As they passed Nico, Rose gave him one last glance. He chuckled as he followed them out but as Rose took a second glance he was smiling at her until he caught her looking. He waved her away and mumbled something to himself that Rose didn't quiet catch. As they exited the bunker Rose noticed that it was starting to get dark. She stopped and looked up at the stars. For some reason they seemed to calm her down every time she looked at them.

Percy led her to a large open air dinning pavilion where all of the other kids were sitting down and talking amongst themselves. Nico was sitting at a table near the edge of the pavilion by himself. He glanced at Rose once and smiled but then shook his head and looked away. Percy came up behind her and made her jump. "Hey you know what I just realized, I have no freaking idea what your name is." He said laughing.

"Oh um…Rose, my name's Rose." She said sneaking another glance at Nico. The girl with curly chocolate hair was sitting next to him and they were laughing as if they had been together forever. When she saw them together something in Rose deflated like a balloon. Percy put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her back to reality. "Rose; what a beautiful name." He said smiling at her. Her cheeks turned red at the compliment. "Thanks; so you're Percy Jackson." She said trying to change the subject. She had never much liked having the spotlight on her in any situation. "My dad told me about you, how you saved him from the giants and everything."

Percy smiled. "Well Frank and Hazel are really the ones that got your father out, I just held back some ghosts." He said. "Frank and Hazel?" Rose asked. "Yeah some of my friends from camp Jupiter. Hazel's over there with Nico, and Frank I think is over with the other Ares kids. I think they've been together now for I think four months now." He said.

Roses stomach did a somersault; Nico and Hazel weren't together. "So are Hazel and Nico like really good friends or what?" She asked. "I guess you could call them that, they're brother and sister. Hey there's someone I want you to meet."

Percy led her over to a small figure in a wheelchair. The man occupying the chair had a long scraggly beard and hair, his face was middle-aged but his eyes told a different story; they were full of despair and sorrow but when he saw Roses face they lit up with happiness and joy.

"Chiron I can't believe it's really you." She said hugging the old centaur tightly. "Oh Rose my dear, it has been to long since I last saw you." Chiron smiled.

Rose saw Percy looking between the two of them with a puzzled look on his face. "Wait you know each other?" Rose couldn't help but laugh. "Chiron used to visit me when I was younger; he was like a grandfather to me." She said. "Oh come now I'm not that old." He said chuckling. "So how has your mom been doing?" He asked a smile still on his face. Rose's heart fell. "She's… She's gone Chiron." His face darkened and his smile faded.

"How?"

Tears were streaming down Roses face. Her heart ached at the thought of telling her old friend what happened.

"It was Zack." She whispered.

Chiron paused for a moment, taking in the horrible news. He hugged Rose tightly.

"I am so sorry Rose." He whispered in her ear. Her silent tears fell onto the Centaurs shoulder.

**(Part four: Nico)**

Nico watched the conversation between the new girl and Chiron with a wary eye. As she started to cry on Chiron's shoulder, Nico felt bad for how he had treated her before. Hazel was still chattering on about something to his left but he wasn't paying any attention. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the new girl, something about her made his heart flutter, which was really weird.

"Earth to Nico, are you even listening?" Hazel asked waving her hand in front of his face.

"Huh… what?" Nico said coming out of his trance.

"Are you okay? You seem really zoned out. What's going on?"

Nico sighed and looked back over at the girl. She had stopped crying and was talking with Chiron in a depressed manner.

"You like her? Oh my gods Nico you like her!" Hazel almost shouted it out to the whole camp.

"Shh! I just… I think… gagh." Nico fumbled over his words trying to explain how he felt about the new girl but hazel just kept talking.

"Oh my gods, my brother has a crush. This is amazing. Did you know her name is Rose, I heard Percy and her talking about it, she really is pretty…" she was spitting out words like a machine gun but Nico blocked her out again after that. Rose, what a beautiful name. He stared back at Rose, the way her flashing purple eyes shown in the firelight and how her spiky red hair seemed like it was on fire made Nico speechless.

Chiron started to pull up out of the chair exposing his white stallion half. As he stood up, the whole pavilion hushed.

"Campers, this is Rose, she is new here and is going to need some help getting up to speed at what goes on here. Please help her in any way you can, she is a very close friend of mine." Chiron's voice echoed around the pavilion.

"Claimed or undetermined?" a camper asked from within the crowd.

"Claimed." Chiron said.

"Who's kid?" another camper asked.

"Thanatos." Chiron stated. The tables filled with chatter and whispers at the news. Nico didn't blame them, it was a hard thing to believe. A camper from the Ares table shouted out above the noise.

"Yeah right. Thanatos doesn't have any normal kids, they're all freaks that die just after they're born."

Chiron glared at the camper who Nico couldn't see. He was about to say something but Rose put her hand on his arm and gave him a look that made him stop.

"Come closer." She said calmly. Nico thought that she was taking this surprisingly well for just getting insulted. A kid from the Ares cabin stepped out of the crowd. Now that he could see the kid clearly he hopped that Rose would just leave well enough alone and back down. This kid was about twice her size and probably weighed about three times more that her. His broad shoulders and thick arms and legs made him as sturdy as a freight train and his voice was rumbling like a thunder-storm. It was James.

"Oops sorry I was wrong you really are a freak, you must be Thanatos' brat." James said laughing. His table joined in, all except Frank who had his head in his hands and was frowning down at the table.

"Well if you could tell the difference between Aphrodite and Ares then you might know that messing with a child of Thanatos is not the smartest move... even for you." Rose retorted.

The rest of the tables stifled laughs and Nico even saw Chiron holding back a smile.

"Why you little…"

"That is enough!" Chiron said stepping between the two of them, though Nico still saw a hint of a smile on his lips. "There will be no fighting tonight. You two can settle this tomorrow at capture the flag."

James smiled at Rose wickedly. "You are so dead."

"Don't bet on it." Rose said going back over toward Percy.

"Can we get something to eat now, I haven't eaten in so long."

"Are you crazy? Percy asked.

"Maybe, why?"

"Only two people can beat James in a fight, that's me and Nico. I've been coming here since I was twelve and I can still barely beat him, you'd be crazy to try and fight him."

He led Rose over toward an empty table and they sat down together.

"Look Percy I'm not going to lose in a fight against some hot tempered, pig headed child of war." She looked at the empty plate of food in front of her, "Do you guys have like a salad bar or something?"

"Just think of your favorite food and it will show up on the plate."

She stared at her plate and a small piece of barbeque chicken, a bowl of potato soup, and a piece of bread. When Rose saw the food she attacked it clearing the plate within a minute.

"Dang, how long has it been since you ate something?" Percy asked staring at her.

"Um... let's see... probably three days ago." she stated flatly

Percy looked amazed, but didn't say anything else.

Rose didn't seem to mind, another plate full of food appeared in front of her and she ate it greedily. After a while she looked up at the night sky. She seemed to be looking for something but she got a disappointed look on her face and then looked back toward the table. Percy didn't ask any more questions throughout dinner, but he kept looking back over toward her ever so often.

Nico tried to focus on eating, but he couldn't help staring at Rose's eyes as she ate. Hazel wasn't talking anymore and was busy eating until Chiron excused all of the campers for the sing along.

As they walked over toward the campfire, Rose and Percy were chatting like long lost friends, that is until Rose saw the blazing fire. She started to back away with pure terror in her eyes when Percy grabbed her shoulders. "What is it?"

"The fire… It's… It's what happened to the house." She said.

Percy blocked out the view of the fire and Rose seemed to come out of her trance.

She blinked her eyes and the fog that seemed to have settled over them vanished. "I'm sorry…It's just that when Zack destroyed our house he set it on fire, I got trapped and ever since that day I have always been afraid of fire." She explained her voice was shaky and her breathing was faster that normal.

Percy looked at her sympathetically. "It's fine Rose, nothing's going to happen, you're safe."

Rose nodded and Percy led her slowly toward the back of the campfire.

As the Apollo cabin started to sing, Rose seemed to relax a little and actually smiled once or twice. Nico had never much liked the sing-along, but when he saw Rose having a good time he suddenly started humming the song that was playing.

After the songs were done Chiron called him, Hazel, and Rose over to him.

Rose thanked Percy for showing her around and walked over to join the three of them.

"Rose, I am sorry to tell you that we don't have a cabin for you to bunk in at the moment." Chiron said.

Rose smiled. "Trust me that's not the worst news I've heard in my life." she said.

Chiron chuckled and continued. "Hazel and I have decided that it would be best if you slept in the Hades cabin until we get a cabin built. If that's okay with you."

Nico looked at Hazel who just smiled innocently at him and stepped toward Rose.

"Um..." Rose said biting the inside of her lip.

"Come on Rose I know it's weird but I really think it's a good idea. Plus I'd really like to have another girl in the cabin to talk to." Hazel pleaded. She pointed back at Nico. "He's not much of a talker and he's my brother so that's even more awkward."

Nico was about to protest but Rose answered the question before he could get his words out. "Yeah sure, I can bunk with you guys; as long as it's okay with Nico."

Nico looked at Rose with surprise; she was asking his permission.

He was about to say that it wasn't okay with him and that he still didn't trust her, but something about the way she looked at him made him pause. Her bright purple eyes seemed to pour into his mind and his emotions took over.

"Yeah it's fine with me."

Nico really did like Rose, but he still didn't know if he trusted her or not.

Chiron smiled at Nico. "It's settled then. Will you two please show her to the cabin I have some urgent business to attend to."

Hazel nodded, motioned for Rose to follow her, and the two girls walked off toward the Hade cabin. Nico glanced back at Chiron who gave him another smile and Nico started to follow the girls.

* * *

By the time Nico caught up with girls they were deep into a conversation. As Nico walked up he caught part of the conversation.

"... could have been worse." Rose said. Hazel nodded in reply before she addressed Nico.

"Glad you could finally join us Nico. I was about to give Rose a tour of the Cabin without you but now that you're here I'll let you do the honors." she said backing away from the Rose to let Nico go first. He glared at Hazel smiled at him but turned back to Rose.

"Well here it is." he said motioning to the large wooden cabin. Black paint and cover most of the wooden planks around the cabin; two Greek fire torches burned on either side of the doorway, casting an eerie light on Roses face. the only other decoration on the outside of the cabin was a replica of Hades helm of darkness.

Rose looked the cabin up and down before she finally spoke up. "Nice."

Hazel grinned at Rose. "Just wait until you see the inside." she said backing into the open doorway. Rose followed after her and Nico closed the door behind them.

Nico smiled at Rose's reaction to the interior of the cabin. Beautiful jewels of every color and size were embedded in the walls all around the cabins. more Greek fire torches lined the walls making the jewels in the room sparkle with different colors. Hazel grinned as Rose's eyes tried to take in all of the amazing colors.

"It's beautiful." Rose gasped.

"You like it?" Nico asked.

"Like it? I love it!" She practically shouted.

she was almost twirling around with joy at the beautiful sight, until she saw the weapons rack in the corner of the room. As her eyes skimmed over it she stopped and walked over toward it. She bent over onto her knees and began organizing all of the weapons.

She looked back over her shoulder and Nico gave her a puzzled look.

She stood up hastily and brushed of her knees. "Oh... um sorry, I've got OCD, it's even worse with my ADHD." Rose said. Nico noticed Rose's cheek turning a light shade of red. He thought it was pretty adorable.

"Oh don't worry about it. Having someone to help Nico organize his stuff would be really helpful." Hazel said putting her arm around Rose's shoulder.

Rose smiled at Nico who also felt his face turning red. He yawned. "Well I don't know about the two of you but I think I'm going to turn in for the night."

"Sounds like a plan." Hazel said.

The three of them got ready for bed.

Hazel helped Rose find some new clothes for her to were the next day and within thirty minutes Hazel and Rose were fast asleep.

Nico laid his head down and thought about what had happened that day running everything over in his mind again and again until he finally fell asleep to the even sound of Hazel and Rose's breathing.

* * *

**Hey Guys please review on this chapter I want to know what you guys think about Rose and Nico together. I know there wasn't a ton of action in this chapter but the next one will be much better I promise. **

**:P**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey sorry I haven't been able to update fast but I'm trying to finish the whole story over Christmas break. This chapter should have a little more action in it that the other two.**

**Hope you like it! :P**

(Part five: Percy)

Percy tossed and turned in his bunk; his mind was racing, thinking about Rose. Her life before he and Nico found her puzzled him. Her brother had betrayed her and killed her mom and her dad, Thanatos, had deserted her when she needed him the most. He knew that demigod families were dysfunctional but this seemed a little extreme to him.

He rolled out of bed and went to the window still thinking. Percy stretched out his arms and yawned. He wasn't even all that tired, after the day's events, he was actually pretty shaken. He looked out the window onto the long stretch of sand that was the border between camp and the canoeing lake.

Usually the look of the calm water reflecting the light of the moon relaxed Percy but this time what he saw startled him.

Rose was walking on top of the water.

Percy's mind barely registered the fact that she was even out on the water before he had grabbed riptide and was half way out the door. He ran to the edge of the shore line and shouted to her. Rose didn't respond. She just kept walking on the top of the lake like she was in a trance. He tried again but she went further and further out. It was impossible, how could Rose walk on water? Nothing was holding her up from the air and Percy couldn't think of anything else that would hold her up, though he kept looking.

His eyes skipped over the surface of the water just below Rose and something caught his eye. A closer look and Percy saw a watery face grinning evilly up at Rose; it was a water nymph.

Percy saw three of the swimming below Rose. One of them was solidifying the water under Rose's feet.

Most of the nymphs around the camp were Percy's friends but these ones Percy didn't recognize. As soon as Percy saw the nymphs he shouted desperately to Rose again but it was too late, one of the nymphs grabbed her leg and pulled her under the water.

Percy ran into the freezing water of the lake and propelled himself toward Rose and the Nymphs. Rose was out of her daze and trying desperately to fight her way back to the surface but the Nymphs pulled her farther and farther down. Percy watched in horror as one of the nymphs pried open Rose's mouth. Air bubbles raced toward the surface and Rose clawed desperately at her throat trying to get oxygen back into her lungs. Just before he reached them Rose body went limp in the water and the nymphs kept pulling Rose down toward the bottom. With one final push Percy rammed into one of the nymphs that was holding onto Rose's ankle. He took out Riptide and slashed at the remaining nymphs who backed off and dissipated into the water, smiling evilly as they did. Percy grabbed Rose and used the water to push the two of them to shore.

Percy dragged Rose onto the beach. "Someone help!" He yelled.

He checked to see if she was breathing but found nothing.

Kids were running around calling for help. As Percy looked around he saw Nico and Hazel running towards him. Nico slid into the wet sand beside Percy.

"God's what's wrong with her?" Nico asked practically screaming in Percy's ear. He knew the answer, but his mind was racing so fast that he didn't know what to do. Rose still wasn't breathing as Chiron galloped up beside them.

Campers from all of the cabins were starting to encircle the group to see what was going on.

Chiron was looking at Rose frantically. He finally noticed that she was soaked from head to toe and the look of fear on his face turned from fear to realization.

"Percy, the water, it's in her lungs; you have to pull it out!" he said frantically.

Percy's mind instantly cleared and he focused on his powers. As he did all of the exes water in Rose's lungs came out as a thin line.

Almost as soon as the water was out Rose's eyes flew open and she began coughing and sputtering. The tension building around them lifted as Rose looked around at the many faces that were surrounding her.

"What hap…" she tried to speak, but she began coughing and wheezing again.

"Relax Rose, everything is fine; I'm sure Percy will explain everything that happened, right?" he said eyeing Percy. He nodded. "Nico would you and Percy please help Rose to the Big House, we need to talk about this." He paused and then addressed the whole group. "As for the rest of you, go back to your cabins; I will explain everything in the morning." Some of the campers complained about always being left out in the important stuff but all of them slowly made their way back to their cabins.

Chiron led the way to the Big House with Percy and Nico helping Rose walk up the hill. Rose tripped on the stairs that led to the porch; she almost fell on her face but Nico grabbed her and pulled her upright.

She looked at him. "Thank you." he started pacing; his hooves going clip clop as they made contact with the hard wood floor. Nico let Rose sit down and then sat beside her and the three of them waited.

"Percy." Chiron stated after a couple of seconds.

Percy told the three of them about Rose walking on the water and about the water nymphs. Once he was finished Chiron asked Rose if she would tell what she remembered happening.

"I went to sleep in the cabin and I started dreaming. I saw my mom; she was motioning for me to follow her so I ran after her. She led me to the old ruins of our house. I tried to run away but then my mom disappeared and Zack was in front of me. He gave me a wicked smile and pointed at the ground bellow me. I looked down and I fell through the ground. The last thing I remember before I passed out was these horrible faces and not being able to breath." Rose was trembling and Nico was trying to comfort her but nothing seemed to be working. Chiron had his fingers intertwined and was resting his elbows on the table.

"Why would water nymphs attack you Rose? None of them around camp have ever been dangerous and I'm sure none of them would try anything like this." Chiron said partially still thinking to himself.

Rose hung her head. "They would if Poseidon told them to." She said.

Percy was shocked. "My dad would never do that!" he yelled.

"Yes he would Percy, both your father and Zeus wouldn't hesitate to try and kill me."

"Why would they?

"They're afraid of me."

"Why are they afraid of you?"

Rose sighed. Percy realized that she must have had to tell this story more than once.

"Both of them have seen what the children of Thanatos can do. Another one of Thanatos' kids killed one of Zeus's children and then another tried to assassinate Poseidon's wife. Ever since then the two of them have tried to eradicate all of Thanatos' children. They forbade him from having any more children. After a few centuries though, he had me and my brother. Ever since they found out they've been doing everything in to try and wipe us off the face of the earth. Zack found a way to shield himself from their sight so they now go after me instead." She paused for a moment and coughed again. "Out of the Big Three, Hades is the only one who isn't trying to kill me, and even that's only one because he hates his brothers, and because he has a soft spot for Thanatos' children." She sighed. "It probably would be best if I left. If I stay here then everyone here is going to be in danger. I need to leave, before anything else happens." She tried to stand up and leave but Nico grabbed her wrist.

"It doesn't matter who comes after you we would all be there to protect you." He said looking deep into her eyes.

"This is one of the safest places that you could be. If you leave the camp then Zeus and Poseidon can send more than just water nymphs after you." Chiron added.

"I might also be able to reason with my father; that is if I can find a way to talk with him." Percy said.

"Plus your Brother is still out there; between the three of them I think your chances are better here with us." Nico stated.

"It's not my life I'm worried about. If anything happened to the camp or any of you guys got hurt then I would never forgive myself." She insisted.

"No one is going to be hurt by you being here; all of us have been in dangerous situations before and we can all handle whatever the gods try and throw at us." Nico paused and smiled. "You aren't getting rid of us that easily."

Rose stood there staring at the three of them. Her eyes had tears in them as she talked. "I can't have anyone else risking their life for me. Too many people have died trying to save me. First my mom then Cole; I couldn't stand it if anyone else died." She started crying.

Percy had no idea who Cole was but he must have been an old friend of Rose's.

"No one is going to die Rose. Not you or anyone else." Nico said pulling her into a hug. She hugged him tightly. "I promise." He whispered.

Percy was glad that Nico and Rose were together. It's not that he didn't like Rose but it was more of a relationship like the one him and Thalia had; brother and sister. As Rose released Nico, Percy hoped that this relationship would work out for him, between his mom and his sister dying, it was nice to see him having someone he could be with.

"I'll stay." She sniffled. Nico's face lit up.

"Well now that that's settled, I think that the three of you should go back to sleep, hopefully tomorrow will be a better day." Chiron said making his way towards the door. No one objected; Nico put his arm around Rose's shoulder and led her back towards the Hades cabin. Percy watched them go and smiled. Chiron came up behind him. "They are a good match don't you think?" he said also watching the two of them leave.

"Yes they are; I just hope it works out." Percy answered.

"Indeed. Well Good night Percy. I'll see you in the morning." Chiron yawned and closed the door to the Big House as Percy walked back towards the Poseidon cabin. When he laid his head down for the second time that night he had no trouble falling into a deep sleep.

(Part six: Rose)

As soon as Nico wrapped his arm around her shoulder, Rose relaxed. She felt safe around him and now that everything was smoothed over between them she felt better talking about things with him. When they made it to the cabin all Rose wanted to do was go to bed but Nico stopped her.

"Look Rose I know you're really tired but I wanted to ask you something."

She yawned. "What is it?"

"Who's Cole?"

Rose's heart skipped a beat. She really didn't want to discuss this topic but Nico had a right to know. "He was a demigod friend of mine when I was wandering around the country."

"What happened?"

She clenched her fist and turned away. "We were setting up camp in Colorado around December when we were attacked. The Chimera and Echidna were the ones that ambushed us. Zeus had sent them to kill me. We tried to fight them but it was no use. They were about to kill us both but Cole…he… he attacked the chimera head on. He always was running into stupid situations; he jumped on top of it and slashed it over and over again with his sword so I would be able to get away. I ran but I turned around when I heard him scream. I saw the Chimera grab him in its mouth and fling him against a tree like a rag doll. He slumped on the ground and didn't move, his blood staining the white snow around him. I wanted to fight but I knew that would be suicide. I turned and ran away as fast as I could." She paused. "I should have stayed and helped him!" tears were stinging her eyes. "Gods I knew I should have kept a better look out. It never would have happened and Cole might still be here if I had just paid a little more attention!" She slammed her fist against the bed frame with a dull thud.

"It's okay Rose; I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked." Nico said turning away.

"No Nico it's not your fault. I'm sorry I just wish… I wish my life wasn't like this."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I just want to be normal. I don't want to worry about monsters and gods and if I'm going to live until I'm seventeen. I just want to forget all of this." She said miserably.

"We all do Rose, but it's not really an option. Believe me I wish I could forget everything that has happened in my life, but I can't. My life has been horrible, but I'm still glad to be here."

"Why?"

"Because I got to meet you; and now that I have, it makes everything that I have been through worth it."

He said siting on the bed next to her. Rose looked into his dark brown eyes and saw all of the happy times of her life flash by in an instant as Nico closed the distance between them.

His lips on hers made her heart flutter. He pulled away slowly and smiled.

"Good night Rose."

He walked over toward his bed and laid down. Rose's cheeks burned as she to laid down. As sleep gripped her all of her thoughts drifted to Nico and the happy part of her life. She fell asleep slowly, a smile across her lips.

The next morning Rose awoke to Nico lightly shaking her shoulder. She hadn't had any nightmares that night; all she dreamed about was Nico. He looked the same now as he did in her dreams. His dark brown hair cropped so you could just barely see his dark brown eyes and his crooked smile showed his dazzling white teeth. He was ghostly pale but instead of being appalled by it she found it fascinating, scary, and beautiful at the same time.

"Come on Rose we got to practice." He said quietly.

Rose stretched out her arms. "What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"It's about five."

She groaned and tried rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Do you always get up this early?" She complained trying to go back to sleep.

"As a matter of fact I do." He said pulling her pillow out from under her head. She tried to grab it but Nico flung it at her face. She sat up and yawned cuddling the pillow to her chest.

"I'll show you to the showers and then I'll meet you at the practice arena."

He walked out of the cabin. Rose folded her bed and Nico's making them perfectly symmetrical and then headed out after him. She could just barely see him ahead of her in the dark morning light. She had to flat out sprint to catch up to him.

Her eyes were still full of sleep as Nico showed her the showers. She barely paid attention to what he was telling her; all she really wanted to do is go back to bed but sadly that wasn't an option. She tried to focus her attention back on Nico.

"…now that you know that I'm sure you'll be able to find the practice arena after you're done freshening up."

"Wait what?" she said shaking the grogginess from her brain. Nico didn't reply, just kissed the top of her head and walked off toward another part of the camp.

Rose sighed. Oh well she'd find him eventually. She entered the steamy showers.

All of the girls that were already in there were either putting on makeup or chattering on about things that Rose really didn't want to listen to or both. As she walked in all of them stopped and stared at her almost as if they were disgusted. Rose ignored their glares and stepped into the shower.

"Aphrodite girls." Rose muttered under her breath. She turned on the water and let it run through her hair and down her face. She hadn't had a decent shower in a while and it felt good to be able to relax and enjoy the warm water. Her mind wandered from one thought to the next as the water splashed against the tile floor.

She finished after a while and stepped out wrapping herself in a towel. All of the other girls had already left, leaving Rose the only one in the showers. She sighed with relief and grabbed her boots from beside the shower. She looked around for her clothes as well but she couldn't find them. She was about to look back in the shower to see if she had left them in there but a sinister laugh behind her made her turn around.

James was standing right in the door way of the shower room flanked by two of his siblings from the Ares cabin.

"Hey Rose, ya' missing something?" he asked holding up her clothes in his meaty hands.

"Give me my clothes back James before you get hurt." She said threateningly. She was doing her best to keep her legs from trembling; though James seemed to notice how scared she really was.

"Your little threats don't scare me. It's time to teach you a lesson." He started advancing toward Rose with his goons following close behind.

Rose backed up against the wall. "Stay away from me." She growled. James kept advancing, an evil smirk on his face. She lashed out with her fist but she hit nothing.

"Nice try freak, I'm faster than you think." James said. He grabbed her shoulder and pinned it against the ceramic wall behind her. She tried to scream but James clamped his hand over her mouth. "Shh… no one can hear you." His eyes skimmed over her body greedily. He started to move his hand that was holding her shoulder down over her collarbone. He smirked at her again and whispered in her ear. "Give me a show Rose and I may let you go." Rose's heart was pumping with fear and adrenaline.

She bit his hand and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. "Not even in your dreams." She spat. He pulled his hand back and pinned her shoulder again while digging his fingers deep into her skin.

James clenched his injured hand into a fist. "You're going to pay for that." He drew his fist back.

Rose put her hand up to try and block the Punch but she never got the chance. A girl's voice rang out over the pounding of Rose's heart. "Let her go!"

James dropped her on the ground just as his fist swung and made contact with the wall. Ceramic tile exploded around Rose as James cried out. She saw the crimson color of blood mixed with glittering bits of tile embedded in James' hand. He clutched his fist to his stomach.

"Gods Piper I'll kill you!" he screamed at the girl. Rose looked up and saw one of the girls from the bunker standing behind the boys, her eyes changed color as she spoke.

"Do that and you'll have to answer to Jason; now scram!"

Each of the boys ran out of the shower room which made Rose relax, but they took all of her clothes with them.

The girl, Piper, kneeled down beside Rose. "Are you okay?" she asked helping Rose off the tile floor.

"Yeah, thanks to you." She smiled. She looked at her injured shoulder. Bruises were already starting to form where James had gripped her. She tried moving it and found that thankfully it wasn't as bad as it looked. She smiled at Piper. "How did you do that?"

"Charmspeak, just one of the many gifts from my mother." She answered.

"Aphrodite?" Rose guessed.

"Yep that's her." She said, though Rose noticed she wasn't very happy about it. She looked at what Rose was wearing and scowled. "Did those idiots take your clothes?" Rose nodded grimly.

"Hang on a sec." Piper ran out of the Showers and came back with a clean pair of clothes. "Here take these." She said handing the clothes to Rose.

"Thanks I'll get them back to you latter."

"Keep them; I've got to many clothes in my closet anyways." Piper said smiling.

Rose thanked her again and Piper started walking out of the showers. "Hey we're going to get back at them I promise. I can get Annabeth to think something up." Piper said turning back to Rose.

"Annabeth?"

"She'd be the blond one that you threw a knife at in the bunker." Piper laughed.

"Oh yeah… um… can you tell her I'm sorry about that I was just really upset." Rose said biting her lower lip.

"No problem, see you around Rose." She said walking out of the room. Rose waved to her and examined the clothes that she had been given.

There was a purple tank top that hugged her body perfectly, a pair of black skinny jeans that sat just in top of her hips, a new pair of black boots that were steal toed, and to top it all off a black hoodie with a silver skull on the front. She didn't expect an Aphrodite girl to have these types of clothes in her closet but she was grateful for them none the less. She got dressed as quickly as she could and searched for her necklace. She found it in the floor, grabbed it, put it around her neck, and ran outside in search of Nico.

**Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review on the story I really want to get better at writing and I love your opinions. Tell me what you think would be better in the story. :P **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. I just want to say thank you to rnagiclove96o1 for the advise you gave me and that it really helped. I'm going to start writing from only ****Nico's POV. Please pay attention to Cole he comes up latter on. **

(Part seven: Nico)

Nico was getting impatient. He knew that girls took a while to freshen up but this was getting ridiculous. As the first ray of sunshine came over the top of the trees Nico shook his head and started out in to look for Rose. He didn't have to look for long. Rose came streaking into the arena and plowed right into him. He stumbled backwards but regained his footing before he fell.

"Finally; what happened I was just about to come looking for you." Nico said grouchily. He saw Rose's shoulders tense up.

"James and some of his siblings attacked me in the showers." She said through gritted teeth. She slipped the sleeve of her hoodie down so that her shoulder was exposed. Nico's eyes skimmed over the deep purple bruises on Roses otherwise perfect skin. His blood boiled inside.

"Did they… you know…" Nico couldn't even bring himself to finish the thought.

"No… I'm okay." she pulled her sleeve back up. Nico relaxed a little more knowing that.

"I am going to kill him and send him to the fields of Punishment for all eternity." He growled. His anger was rising; how dare he even think of touching Rose, he was going to pay. Rose grabbed his shoulder and shook him back into reality.

"Nico; I'm fine let's just forget about it for now okay." She insisted. Nico could see that she was fighting the urge to agree to his offer but he could also see that the wheels in her head were turning, thinking of some way to give James what he deserved. He decided to let her handle it, though he was going to do something else on his own latter.

"Fine… you ready to start practice?" he said trying to change the subject. Rose smiled at him.

"Definitely."

He was glad to see her warm and determined smile again. "Okay then let's start off with some basics. Hmm… let me see your normal stance."

Rose got in position. Her right foot was poised just in front of her left foot which gave her a strong center of gravity. She held her sword in her left hand and twirled it around effortlessly. Nico was impressed; most people found it difficult to use their left hand in sword fighting but Rose seemed to have mastered the skill.

"Okay then let's see what you can do." Nico said also setting himself up. "I'll go easy on you the first time."

Rose smiled at him. "If you insist." She slashed at him as soon as the words came out of her mouth. He just barely managed to block the attack before she came again. She pushed him further and further toward the edge of the arena. Sweat dripped down his face and started to make his palms slick. Rose slipped her sword tip inside of his defenses and with one smooth motion she flipped his sword out of his hands.

The blade fell to the ground with a clatter and Nico stared at Rose in disbelief. She grinned triumphantly at him and picked up his fallen sword. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"My brother taught me everything that I know…" she stopped and looked at the ground with a scowl on her face. Nico felt awkward and cleared his throat. Rose looked back up and sighed. "Sorry…do you want to go again?" Nico nodded grimly.

They practiced for most of the morning with Rose winning most of the matches. Nico won a couple but he got the feeling that Rose let him win to keep him practicing. Just before they started another round a horn blew signaling that it was time for lunch. Nico slipped his arm around Rose's shoulder. As soon as Rose flinched Nico realized his mistake and jerked his arm away.

"I'm so sorry…I didn't mean…"

Rose gave him a pained grin. "Its fine…don't worry about it." She said through gritted teeth. She relaxed her shoulder. Nico sighed with relief and smiled; he pulled Rose in closer to him. She rested her head on his chest and shivered.

"Hey you sure you're okay?" he asked running his hand lightly down her arm.

"Yes." She looked up at him. He looked into her bright purple eye and he smiled slightly. He cupped her cheek in his hand and she leaned against it. They stood there for a few minutes just staring into each other's eyes intently. Rose pulled her gaze away smiling. "I think we should be getting back… someone might notice we're gone."

"Whatever you say." He took her hand and together they walked out of the arena toward the pavilion. The feeling of Rose's hand in his felt strange to Nico. He had never felt this way about anyone before. He looked at Rose as they walked. Her pale skin against the black material of her clothes made her look fierce and beautiful all at the same time. Her lips were turned up in a slight smile that made Nico's stomach do summersaults. She squeezed his hand.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked.

Nico's cheeks got red as he tried to explain. "I was… um… I was just thinking about how amazing you are and how beautiful you look." He said grabbing the back of his neck.

She stopped walking just as they were about to reach the pavilion. She smiled at him. "I think you're pretty amazing too." Nico's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red. She reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips. She let go of his hand and walked into the busy pavilion. Nico stood there for a minute watching her walk into the crowd. He smiled like an idiot and quickly followed her. Rose had found the Hades table and was talking with hazel intently. Nico stayed back in the crowd to listen to their conversation.

"So how are things working out between you and Nico?" Hazel asked.

"It's amazing. I never thought that I would be lucky enough to have someone as amazing as him in my life. Even after everything that has happened I still can't believe he can put up with me." Rose said laughing.

"Yeah well he's definitely head over heels for you." Nico saw Rose blush at the comment and it made him feel good. He strolled over towards them and sat down.

"Well the ghost king finally arrives." Hazel said smirking at him. H rolled his eyes and filled his plate with the camps food. Nico kept glancing at Rose as they ate together; he just couldn't get over how beautiful she was. As the tree of them finished up their meal Piper and Annabeth made their way over and sat down next to Rose.

"Hey Rose you doing okay?" Piper asked.

"I'm doing great and thanks again for everything."

"Don't mention it." she grinned mischievously at her. "Annabeth found something that she thinks will serve as payback for those jerks."

"What, tell me?" Rose said excitedly.

Annabeth leaned over and joined the conversation. "I got some of the guys in the Hermes cabin to fill the Ares cabin with a special type of helium. If you breathe it in it makes your voice go high."

Rose smile wickedly at the plan. "Perfect."

"They should be here in three… two… one."

Nico turned around and saw the Ares cabin come up the hill. James was leading them and his face was beat red with rage. The two girls smiled triumphantly. James saw them smiling and stomped toward them. He pointed at the three girls. "You three are going to pay for this."

Nico cracked a grin at his voice. It sounded like he had just swallowed Alvin and the chipmunks. All the girls burst into a fit of laughter. James clenched his fists and walked off fuming.

The girls were all trying to catch their breath. "Oh my gods that was hilarious." Rose said trying to stop laughing. Hazel was also laughing along with them until something dawned on her. "Frank! He breathed in the helium along with everyone else!"

Annabeth face palmed. "Crap; I'm so sorry Hazel I totally forgot about him!" On queue Frank walked over and joined the group.

"Frank I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for it to…"

Frank cut her off by putting his hand up. _It's fine. I heard about what happened and I'm glad you did it._ He mouthed.

"I'll see if I can get Conner and Travis to find an antidote." Annabeth said getting up out of her seat. Frank and Hazel followed her lead and walked over toward the Hermes cabin. Piper smiled at Rose and Nico.

"I'll leave you to alone then." She got up out of her seat and joined her siblings at the Aphrodite table.

Nico looked at Rose across the table. "That really was funny." Rose grinned.

"Yeah I know; wonder how long it lasts?"

Nico shrugged. "I dunno… hopefully long enough to teach them a lesson."

"I just hope Annabeth can get an antidote for Frank. I feel really bad."

"Annabeth's smart… she'll figure something out." Nico heard another horn sound and smiled at Rose. "Ready for capture the flag?" he asked getting out of his seat.

"Let's do it!"

Nico started going onto the rules of the game and what was going on. "The cabins team up against each other and try to grab the other team's flag and bring it across the creek into friendly territory. The Ares, Hermes, and Apollo cabins have teamed up against the other cabins. The Athena cabin is the strategist so I'm going to let them explain the plan to you."

They made their way into the woods and Nico found where the Athena cabin was set up. He spotted Annabeth hunched over a map of the woods. "Annabeth!" he called. She looked up from her map and motioned for him to come over. "Hey Annabeth do you think you could explain what the plan is to Rose. You can probably do a better job than I can."

Annabeth smiled at Rose. "Yeah sure. We're the blue team. The Hades cabin, which includes you, and Leo from the Hephaestus cabin are going to be defending the flag. Percy, the Demeter cabin and half of the Aphrodite cabin are going to be defending up at the creek trying to keep the majority of the attackers at bay with the water, vines, and Charmspeak." She showed them the map and the plan of attack. "The rest of us are going after the flag. If anyone gets past the defenses at the creek then you guys are going to have to keep them away from the flag. Luckily Leo and the Hephaestus cabin have rigged the defensive perimeter with trap so you shouldn't have to fight much; but the Hermes cabin is tricky so be on guard. James will probably go after the flag himself so I hope you can get some more payback." Rose looked over the map again tracing the line of the creek with her finger.

"Sounds simple enough.' She said lifting her hand from the map. "I'm ready; let's do this." Annabeth nodded and joined the rest of her siblings.

Nico and Rose found Hazel and Leo by the flag. Leo jumped up and threw his arms around Rose and Nico's shoulders. "Sup guys? Looks like were on defense this time." He beamed. Nico rolled his eyes and Rose smiled.

"So you're Leo huh?"

Leo grinned and smoothed his hair back. "Yep that's me. Son of Hephaestus and mechanical genius; and you're the infamous Rose. Hazel told me that you got Mr. Doom and Gloom over there to fall for you." He said poking his thumb towards Nico. Nico glared at Hazel, and looked at Rose apologetically but she just smiled at him. "Yep; I finally got him to kiss me last night." She said triumphantly. Leo let go of their shoulders and looked at Nico in disbelief.

Hazel squealed with joy and Nico felt his ears drums bust. "You guys finally kissed! Why didn't you tell me Nico?"

"Because I knew you would freak out just like you're doing now and I didn't want to lose my hearing." He said rubbing his temples. "Thanks Rose, I'm ever going to hear the end of this now."

"You're such a downer." She said winking at him.

"And proud of it." He said wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. He tickled her sides lightly and she started laughing.

"Nico stop I hate it when people tickle me!" She shrieked.

Nico stopped and let her catch her breath. She glared at him but she still had a smile on her face. "You're a nuisance you know."

He gave Rose a sexy grin. "That's what you love about me." She rolled her eyes and unwrapped his hands form her waist. She sat down next to Hazel.

Hazel smiled at Rose. "You two are so cute together." She sighed. The two of them started talking about what had happened in the showers. Leo gabbed Nico's arm and pulled him aside.

"Nico you sly dog you're so lucky. You got yourself one amazing girl there." He said grinned at him. He looked at him and then at Rose. She and Hazel were laughing about something and Nico smiled. "You're right. She is amazing."

A yell from the Athena cabin signaled that the game was starting. Nico and Leo walked back over to Rose and Hazel. Nico drew his sword ready for anything. Leo sat down on a rock. "Come on Nico relax. This place is as secure as the white house. Nothing is getting through those traps." He said confidently.

"Doesn't matter. No offence but traps can malfunction and I prefer a sword and my own to hands to defend myself."

"My traps don't malfunction!" Leo protested; he stood up defiantly.

"I'm just stating the facts; Swords are more trustworthy than machines."

"That's not a fact, that's an opinion." Nico was just about ready to punch Leo in the face but Hazel stepped in between the two of them.

"Come on guys stop fighting." She said pushing the tow of them apart.

That's when disaster struck. An arrow appeared out of nowhere and exploded into a large metal net. It slammed into Hazel, Nico, and Leo entangling them and causing them to crash to the ground. Nico watched as three boys emerged from the brush; James, a kid from the Apollo cabin, and another kid from the Hermes cabin. Nico tried to force his way out but the metal held string. Hazel had summoned a sharp piece of emerald from the ground and was trying to cut through the net but wasn't getting anywhere. Rose had her sword drawn and was facing the three boys with a determined look in her eyes.

The boy from the Apollo cabin had an arrow notched ad was aiming at Rose. "Put down your sword or it's a sonic arrow for you." He threatened. Rose didn't back down. "I'm warning you." He said.

Rose just smiled. "Go ahead… I dare you." The boy hesitated. Rose took the opportunity and charged the three boys. With lightning fast speed she jumped over the Apollo kid and engaged James in combat. James put his sword up just in time to save himself from a nasty scar on him face. She sliced at him over and over again causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards into a tree. The Apollo kid finally got over his shock and fired his arrow. Rose jumped and twisted in midair narrowly missing the arrow. It exploded on the tree just above James head and knocked him out cold. Rose dodged another arrow from the kid and twisted the bow out of his hands and slamming the hilt of her sword into his stomach. He groaned and doubled over with pain. Rose tuned to face the Hermes kid. He had his sword drawn and at the ready but he was trembling. Rose dropped her sword on the ground. "Here I'll give you the first shot." She said smiling. Nico thought she was crazy. The Hermes kid got a look of confidence on his face and charged Rose.

What happened next amazed Nico; the boy charged Rose with his sword aimed at her midsection. Rose grabbed the hilt of the boy's sword and twirled to the left avoiding the blade and pulling it out of his hands at the same time. Nico had tried to use that disarming maneuver before but he had never been able to do it; Rose pulled it off beautifully. The boy stumbled forwards a couple steps before Rose came up and hit the hilt of her sword on the boy's nose. There as a sickening crunch and the boy dropped to the ground with blood leaking out his nose.

Hazel and Leo cheered as Rose picked up her sword and cut a hole in the net so the three of them could get out. Hazel jumped up and hugged Rose. "That was amazing Rose!"

Leo grinned at her. "Remind me not to ever get in a fight with you." He said.

Nico glared at him. "I thought you said that this place was as secure as the White House. What happened to your traps did they… malfunction?" Leo glared back at him but didn't say a word.

Rose laughed weakly "Thanks guys." Nico noticed that her hands were shaking and her stance wasn't steady. She fell and Nico caught her. She laughed again. "Sorry… guess I used little too much energy." She sighed and Nico helped her up. A horn blasted in the distance.

"We won!" Hazel said grasping Rose on her shoulder. Leo pumped his fist into the air. Rose smiled at Rose sleepily.

"We should probably get back to camp." She said trying to walk. She stumbled and fell into Nico's waiting arms.

"You can barely stand let alone walk all the way back to camp. I'll carry you." Nico said.

"Nico I'm fine; just let me rest for a second." She said steadying herself. She looked at the three boys who were still on the ground. "What are we going to do about them?"

"I can shadow travel them back. Leo, Hazel you guys help Rose back I'll be there soon." Nico said. Hazel nodded and led Rose back toward camp. Once the three of them were out of sight Nico kneeled down next to James. James now was leaning up against the tree behind him and rubbing his temples with is fingers.

"What… what happened?" he asked looking around. He saw Nico glaring at him with is sword drawn and jumped. "What do you want Ghost boy?" James asked trying to get up. Nico pushed him back up against the tree. "Hey what's the…" Nico cut him off by putting his word up to his neck.

"I swear on the river Styx that if you ever touch or hurt Rose again in any way, shape, or form I will drag you to the Underworld in your sleep and give you to Cerberus as a chew toy." Thunder cracked over their heads. "Are we clear?"

James was looking wide eyed at Nico. He swallowed and nodded. "Good now you can find your own way back to camp." He said standing up. He dragged the other two boys close to him and shadow traveled them back to camp.

(Part eight: Nico)

He arrived at camp just as the other campers sat down for dinner. He let some of the tree nymphs take the two kids to the Big House for any medical attention that they might need and then joined Hazel and Rose at the table.

"What took you so long?" Rose asked. Her eyes weren't as tired as they had been and her smile was brighter.

"Oh I just had a little talk with James." Nico said. "He won't bother you ever again."

Rose looked at him strange but didn't question him. When the finished eating Chiron made an announcement that there would be a camp meeting that night instead of a camp fire. Some of the kids form the Apollo cabin looked disappointed that they wouldn't get to sing but everyone eventually made their way to the Amphitheater.

Nico found Percy and most of their friends sitting in the front row of the stands. They motioned for the three of them to come and sit next to them. Once everyone had settled down Chiron walked on staged.

"Fist off I want to congratulate the blue team on their victory in capture the flag." The whole blue team cheered and shouted in victory. Chiron went on about News concerning the camp and the gods. Nico didn't pay much attention to the announcements until the end. He looked at Rose who was holding his hand and watching Chiron intently. "One last thing I would like to announce…"

Nico saw Rose's eyes widen and her grip on his hand tightened significantly. He looked up on stage and saw what Rose was looking at. A boy with Jet black hair and purple eyes like Rose was standing on the stage. He grinned at Chiron.

"Chiron old friend it's been so long since I've seen you." The boy said smiling at the old centaur.

"Zack why are you hear?" Chiron asked. His tail was swishing back and forth nervously.

Zack frowned. "Can't I just visit an old friend?" Chiron glared at him and Zack sighed. "Well if you must know I'm actually here for two things; first I wanted to visit my little sister."

Nico looked at Rose. The look on her face would have made a hellhound shrink away in fear. Zack turned on his heel and smiled at the group of demigods in the front row. "Rose, little sis, you've gotten so big. What have you been doing these past few years?" he asked.

"I've been trying to find and kill you for what you did." Rose said fuming.

"You're still holding a grudge over that little thing?"

"Killing our mom in cold blood and leaving me for dead is not a little thing you traitor!" she said standing up from her seat.

Zack put his hand over his heart. "Your words hurt Rose they really do." He said dramatically.

Rose was trembling with rage now and Zack just smiled. "I'd sit down Rose before you hurt yourself." Nico saw that she was about to punch Zack in the nose but Nico grabbed her clenched fist and pulled her back down into her seat. "Now for my second item of business." Zack said. He threw his hands out dramatically and a giant cloud of smoke engulfed the stage. Nico coughed as he breathed in the smoke. As the stage cleared Nico saw another figure on the stage. Rose's whole body tensed as she saw and recognized the figure.

"Dad!"

Zack smiled wickedly and turned to Chiron. "I want you to send three of your strongest campers to Tennessee. Those three will have the chance to fight for Thanatos." He turned to Nico. "I might tell your friends about that Prophecy that you got. It might help." He said.

Nico's heart skipped a beat. "How do you know about that?" he had never told anyone about the prophecy that he got from Rachel. Zack just grinned and in a puff of smoke he disappeared with Thanatos.

Nico tried to calm Rose down as the front row made their way to the Big House. She was still trembling with rage and her eyes were pure venom. Chiron was waiting for the group at the front door and quickly motioned them all inside. Nico sat down next to Rose and pulled her in close. She relaxed a little in his arms.

Leo, of all people, was the first one to speak. "Okay who in Hades was that?"

Rose stood up out of her seat. Nico was afraid that she was going to start screaming at Leo but instead she kept it low and bitter. "My Brother." She used the word brother like it was an insult. She turned to Chiron. "I have to go to Tennessee. I have to face him and get my father back."

"Before anyone goes anywhere I want to hear the prophecy." He looked at Nico. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

Nico looked at the ground. "I didn't think it was all that important and I didn't want to worry anyone else with another prophecy."

Chiron nodded grimly. "Tell it to us."

He sighed.

"**_Three shall act together as one,_**

**_But only two will see the sun._**

**_One shall take the place of another,_**

**_But all go home to a father or mother."_**

Rose looked at him. "That's what Hestia was talking about." She said shaking his arm. Everyone gave her a puzzled look. She sighed. "Look Hestia said that I need Nico and Percy to help me on a quest. This prophecy is that quest. I have to go." She said again.

"Wait a minute how do we even know if we can trust your brother. For all we know we could be walking into a trap." Percy said.

"Do we have any other choice? We have to get Thanatos back and Zack has him. Are you guys in?"

Percy pondered what she said then smiled. "Bring it on."

Rose looked at Nico. "What about you?"

He grinned at her and squeezed her hand "I'm with you all the way." She hugged him tightly and then turned to Chiron looking for approval. The old centaur gave Rose a sad look.

"Are you sure my dear?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "Very well."

Percy stood up from his chair and flipped his trusty pen in his fingers. "So when do we leave?"

Rose answered slowly. "Tomorrow."

**Hey I know that things with Nico and Rose are going really fast but I don't really know what else to do. I got a new computer and I'm still getting used to it so forgive me if there were some errors. R&R :P**


	5. Chapter 5

**hey guys, hope everyone is having a great new year. I know that this looks like a filler chapter but it has important things in it that will come up in the next story *Spoiler*. **

(Part nine: Nico)

Nico couldn't fall asleep. He herd Rose toss and turn in her bed until she finally got up and walked out of the Cabin.

Nico got up and followed her out. She walked out of the cabin area and towards the practice arena. Nico watched from the shadows as Rose pulled her sword off her necklace and started slicing at the practice dummies that were set up around the arena. She sliced and hacked for almost thirty minutes chopping most of the mannequins into chunks of foam and rubber.

She suddenly stopped just before she finished the last dummy. She stared at the expressionless face for a few moments before slamming her sword into the ground. She dropped to her knees breathing heavily. Nico saw the glittering hint of tears in her eyes as she grabbed the top of the sword with both of her hands and rested her head between her arms. She started trembling and her breath turned shaky.

"What happened to you Zack? Why are you doing this?" She asked angrily. He saw her grit her teeth and throw her head back to look at the sky. "Just tell me!" she screamed.

Nico stepped out of the shadows and walked over to her. She turned her gaze form the sky to him. Her eyes held pure hatred just as they had back at the Big House but they softened when they reached his face.

She turned away from him. "Nico I just need to be alone right now." She said wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I know you think that but deep down you really just want a shoulder to cry on."

He pulled her into a tight embrace and she buried her face in his shirt. "I don't know what to do. I never thought that Zack would try something as crazy as kidnaping a god."

"It's okay Rose we're going to get your father back."

She looked up at him. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's just… something was… off about him Nico."

Nico tried to lighten the mood. "Yeah he seemed like he had one or two screws lose." Rose didn't laugh or smile.

"I'm serious. When he looked at me… there was something different about him. I saw his eyes but there was something else there too." She paused. "I felt someone else's presence in front of me. Someone very ancient and very evil. I don't know who it was but the presence felt… familiar somehow."

Nico just stared at her. This was really starting to freak him out. Rose stared at him and sighed. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Seeing my brother and my dad all in the same day probably has my mind on edge."

Nico's gaze turned grim. "Maybe you're right; still I wouldn't leave anything to chance." He helped Rose to her feet. "Come on, we really need to get some sleep."

"I tried. Every time I got close to sleep… the night my mom died would replay in my mind. I'll go crazy if I ever see it again." Rose said running her hands up her face and curling her fingers into her spiky hair.

"Okay we'll stay up then come on let's go to the docks."

"Nico you should go to sleep. I'll be fine out here on my own; besides you need the energy for tomorrow."

Nico just chuckled softly. "I'm not about to leave you alone like this. I'll sleep when you're ready to; but until then I want to show you something at the docks."

Rose looked down to her side but smiled. "You're really stubborn you know."

"Yeah well so are you."

She hit him lightly on the arm and laughed. Nico smiled. "Follow me."

They made their way past the cabins and then down to the canoeing lake and the docks. The old wood boards on the dock creaked as Rose and Nico made their way to the edge. Nico sat on the edge with is feet dangling over the clear water and motioned for Rose to do the same. He looked past the lake and over toward the tree line beyond.

"Okay so what are we doing here?" Rose asked.

"Watch the tree line past the lake. Some nights a silver Timber wolf appears over there. It belonged to a hunter of Artemis, Zoe Nightshade. She died a couple years ago and Lady Artemis put her in the sky as a constellation. Her Wolf wanders the world following her hunter in the sky. When it comes to camp, it stops and howls all night long. If I'm right, tonight it's supposed to be here." He said scanning the tree line. He spotted the shinning form coming out of the tree. He pointed it out to Rose as it sat down and started howling up at the stars.

Rose stared at the amazing creature for a while before she spoke. "It's beautiful."

Nico smiled at her. "Yeah I know. Some nights when I need something relax me I come out here and listen to it howl."

They sat there for a while just listening to the beautiful yet sad sound of the Wolf without her master. Nico closed his eyes and sighed. "This is amazing." He thought.

A slight weight on his shoulder made him open his eyes back up. Rose was sound asleep and resting her head in his shoulder. Nico smiled at her peaceful face. He wrapped his arms around her and carefully lifted her up into a carrying position. Her head fell against his chest as he carried her back to the Hades cabin. Nico laid her down in her bed slowly and watched her sleep for a few seconds. Her stomach and chest rose and fell with every breath. He smiled again and kissed the top of her forehead. "Good night Rose."

He laid down in his bed with the image of Rose's smile in his mind and the distant sound of the wolf lulling him to sleep.

The next morning Nico awoke with his stomach in knots. Rose was already awake and was packing her bag for the trip. He followed suit and woke Hazel up to say goodbye.

She hugged his tightly. "Love you Nico."

"Love you sis." He said hugging her back.

Hazel went over to Rose and also gave her a hug. "Keep him safe would you."

"I will I promise."

"I'm going to miss you both so much." Hazel sniffed and wiped her eyes free of tears.

"We're both coming back. I promise I'll Iris Message you when I can." Nico said taking Hazel's hand. She smiled at the two of them.

"Okay. You two should get going." She said escorting them out the door. She stayed in the door frame as Nico and Rose walked up Half-blood hill. Just as they got to the top of the hill they turned back and wave to her before they disappeared over the top of the hill.

Annabeth and Chiron were waiting near the road as Nico and Rose made it over the hill. "Hey guys do you know where Percy is?" Annabeth asked when they were in hearing range.

"I'm here!" Percy shouted from behind them. He was a total disaster. His hair was standing up on one side of his head and the other side was completely flattened. He had his head and only one arm through his shirt and his pack for the trip was dragging on the ground behind him.

Rose smiled and Annabeth rubbed her temples with her fingers. "My hero." Annabeth sighed.

"I'm here." Percy said again stopping in front of them.

"What happened to you? You're a mess." Annabeth said and started helping him fix his hair.

"Someone from the Hermes cabin took my alarm clock in the middle of the night and I over slept." Percy said defensively. Annabeth rolled her eyes and finished helping him with his hair. He straightened out his shirt and pulled his pack onto his shoulders. Annabeth shook her head and hugged him tightly.

"I swear seaweed brain if you don't come back I'm going to go to the Underworld and give your spirit the beating of a lifetime."

Percy smiled at her. "Don't worry we're all going to come back." He looked at Nico who nodded in agreement and then squeezed Rose's hand.

Annabeth let go of Percy and sighed. "Fine just don't get hurt." She reached up and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. She hugged Nico and Rose then waved goodbye as she made her way down the hill back into camp. Percy watched her leave with a sleepy grin on his face.

"Well now that everyone is here then I think it's time for the three of you to be on your way." Chiron said motioning to the camps van. The three of them piled into the back with Argus in the driver's seat. Chiron leaned in the back seat window. "Argus will take you as far as Manhattan but from there you're on your own. Good luck."

"Thanks for everything Chiron. We won't let you down." Rose said hugging the old centaur through the window. He put a hand on her shoulder and pulled his body away from the van. Rose rolled up the window as Argus pulled the van out onto the road and they started towards Manhattan. Nico watched the camp fade into the distance and sighed when he could no longer see it.

After about three minutes of sitting in silence Percy started snoring. Rose smiled and stifled a laugh as Percy's head fell to the side and hit the window. He still continued to snore. Rose turned to Nico. "Are you nerves?"

"Just slightly. I've never gotten a prophecy from Rachel, the Oracle, and the lines just keep replaying in my head over and over again."

Rose slipped her hand into his. "Same here." Nico smiled at her and grasped her hand firmly.

They road like that for another couple of miles just staring out the windows and watching the countryside fly by. Rose let her hand drop to her side and looked at Nico. "I want to show you something."

She reached her hand into her pack that she had brought and pulled out a rose made completely of jewels. It had a simple design, small petals and a stem littered with jeweled thorns. Each of the petals curved at the end and caught the light that came through the vans window. One of the rays went into a petal and then reflected back into his eyes. As it hit his eyes his vision changed.

He was in a small room on a bed. A warm breeze came through an open window and filled his body with bliss. He looked around the room; it was simply yet elegantly furnished. A TV was set up in front of the beds with lamp posts on either side of it. He looked at the bed spread he was sitting on. It had a large lotus flower in the center with smaller ones surrounding it. The shutting of a door made Nico turn his gaze from the bed. Who he saw coming through the door made his heart skip a beat. The girl had long chocolate brown hair olive colored skin. He meet her gaze and felt tears of joy spring into his eyes. "Bianca."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Nico, I love you."

He ran to her and hugged her tightly burying his face in her neck. He wanted to tell her about everything but when he looked at her his vision changed back to Rose and the van.

A tear of joy ran down his face. "Did you see that?" he asked.

"No I didn't. This flower shows you the person that you either miss or love the most when light hits the petals. My dad gave it to me the day that my mom died and I used it to see her face." She paused and pressed the rose to his hand. "Here I want you to have it."

Nico stare at the beautiful object in his hand. "No Rose I can't. This is the only way you can see her." Rose smiled at him and closed his fingers around the flower.

"From the reaction that you had to it, I think you need it more than I do." She let go of his hand and he carefully put the rose in his pack.

Percy snored loudly again and Rose laughed. "Talk about completely ruining the moment." Nico cracked a smile and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"I wouldn't say it's completely ruined."

After about an hour of driving the Argus stopped in Manhattan. Rose woke Percy up and the three exited the car. Nico thanked Argus for the ride who nodded and started back towards camp. Percy yawned and rubbed his eyes. "You know what I just realized? Between the three of us we're going to attract a lot of monsters."

Rose smiled. "That just makes it more fun."

Nico chuckled. "So exactly where are we supposed to find your brother? I know that he's in Tennessee but…"

Roe hung her head. "We're going to have to go to the place where it all started; my old house."

**Sorry this was a filler chapter but I wanted to post something before the week started and this is all I could get done. R&R! :P**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, I'm so sorry that I didn't update faster. Between studying for exams, basketball, homework, and extreme writers block I had almost no time to type. On another note I love how many people are reading this, over 500 people and I know that doesn't seem like a lot to you guys but to me it is an amazing achievement, please keep reviewing and reading. These past couple weeks have been really busy and I'm getting to a part in the story that I don't know exactly what I want to do so bare with me. Hope you like it :P**

(Part ten: Nico)

The three of them made their way across most of New York when they had to stop for the night. The town they stopped at was a rundown and from what Nico could see, it was almost totally abandoned. Finally they stumbled along a beat up motel on the edge of the town. The neon sign out front flickered on and off as they approached.

The lady at the front counter smiled at them as Percy stepped up. "Well hello there young man; how can I help you?" Nico noticed that she had a slight southern accent and everything about her was really perky.

Rose pulled at his arm and he looked back at her. Her eyes were darting around everywhere. "Look I know you're going to think I'm crazy but I think we need to find somewhere else to sleep."

Nico looked at her puzzled. "I know it's not the nicest place but it's dry and warm. We'll be fine." Rose looked at the ground but nodded and the two of them turned back to the front desk.

Percy smiled at the lady. "One room please." He pushed the money across the desk and the lady handed him a key.

"Room 13; down the hall and to your left." Percy thanked the woman and took the key. Rose stopped just before the three of them turned the corner t their room but shook her head after a second and continued on All of the rooms around them seemed to be pretty rundown but the one they entered seemed like the worst of them all. The metal numbers on the door were rusty and they looked as if they could fall off if you slammed the door to hard. When they entered the smell was the only thing that Nico could focus on. The room smelled like a sewer pipe filled with rotting garbage. Percy gagged as he enter the room and the door shut behind them.

"Gods this place smells like my old step dad!" Percy said holding his nose.

"It's not so bad. At least we have somewhere to sleep for the night." Nico said throwing his pack on a bed. Percy threw his bag in the chair near the window and sat down.

"Something's wrong here." Rose said standing near the door.

Nico didn't see anything wrong with the room besides the fact that it need remodeling, but Rose was still on edge.

She sniffed the air again and her nose crinkled. Suddenly her eyes widened. "We have to go now!" She grabbed the door knob and tried turning it.

"Wait Rose what's wrong?" Percy asked standing up out of the chair.

She continued to turn the knob frantically. "We should never have some here! We have to get out!"

Nico grabbed her shoulders and turned her to him. "Rose tell us what's wrong." Her breathing was fast but she looked into his eyes.

"We're in the lair of the Chimera!" Nico let her shoulders go. "The lady at the front; she's Echidna! We have to get out of here!"

Percy drew his sword. "I think you're right."

Rose tried the door knob again but swore under her breath. "Try the window."

They ran to the widow and started ponding at the window. Percy tried to use his sword and slam the blade into the glass to shatter it. It bounced off the window and didn't even leave a scratch. Nico noticed that the smell in the room was getting stronger. His breathing became shorter and his vision began to blur. Percy was having the same trouble beside him.

"I can barely breathe." Rose sounded like she was having an asthma attack. She slumped to the ground unconscious. Nico coughed as the strange air filled his lungs.

"Percy… we have to get… out!" He pounded his fist on the glass weekly as his vision began to blacken around the edges. He herd Percy slump against the wall next to him pounded one last time on the glass window. His hand slid down the impenetrable glass and the last of his vision turned black.

Nico drifted in and out of consciousness. He saw a woman smiling down at Rose for a few moments but then his vision faded back to black. Another time his felt his body being dragged and he saw Rose being dragged beside him her head lulling to the side. His vision faded in and out a few more times but he couldn't see anything besides a stone corridor until he finally opened his eyes for good. His head throbbed and his body felt heavy with sleep. He pushed himself off the ground and stood up but instantly regretted it, his vision swam in and out of focus and his heart pounded in his head. Once his vision came back into focus he looked around him. Percy was sprawled out on the dusty ground beside him. His eyes were closed and his skin was as pale if not paler than Nico's.

"Percy." He called out in a hoarse voice. When he didn't respond his heart beat sped up. "Percy!" he called out louder this time. In response he herd Percy groan. "Come on Percy we have to get out of here."

Percy coughed and sat up rubbing his temples with his fingers. "What happened; where's Rose?" he asked his voice also hoarse. Nico looked around the room but Rose was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm not sure, but we have to find her." He grabbed Percy's hand and pulled him up off the ground. He looked around the room more carefully this time and saw that the only exit was a dark tunnel leading off to the left. "Come on if Rose was right and this is the lair of the Chimera then she could be in big trouble."

Percy nodded in agreement and pulled out his sword. Just as they were about to enter the tunnel a female voice came out of now where. "Well I'm glad you two finally woke up. I was afraid that you were going to miss the main event." The woman said cheekily. He recognize it as the voice of the lady at the front desk. Nico drew his sword and stood back to back with Percy.

"Echidna what have you done with Rose!" Nico demanded. A bone chilling laughter echoed throughout the room.

"Oh she's right here." Echidna said. He heard Rose scream in pain and more of Echidna's maniacal laughter. "If you want to see her again I suggest you hurry, my son is in a hungry mood right now and the first thing on the list to go is her."

Echidna didn't say another word and the room was completely silent. Rage was boiling inside Nico; Echidna was going to pay. He took off running into the tunnel leaving Percy in the silent room.

"Nico wait!" Percy called after him. Nico didn't stop; he was going to get Rose back no matter what. A hand fell on his shoulder and forced him to stop and turn around. "Nico the Chimera is not some half-witted monster, it's dangerous; you can't just barge in there."

Nico's gaze hardened. "Watch me." He tried to turn around and keep going but Percy tightened his grip on Nico's shoulder.

"Nico, one false move Rose is gone, we can't afford to screw up."

"But you heard what…"

"I know what Echidna said but we have to think this through otherwise we're never going to save Rose." Percy stared into Nico's eyes. "Look I know that you want to save her and I do to but running in there with no plan what so ever isn't going to help Rose." He put both of his hands on Nico's shoulders. They stood there for a moment staring at each other before Nico's gaze softened.

"You're right. So then what exactly is the plan?" Nico asked looking expectantly at Percy. He opened his mouth but then closed it and sighed.

"Honestly I don't know."

"Wait… what! You just stood there lecturing me on not rushing into things without a plan and I expected you to have some brilliant idea on how to get out of this mess and now you don't have any clue on what to do." Nico said exasperatedly.

Percy shrugged. "Hey I'm not Annabeth; she's the one that has all of the brilliant ideas."

Nico sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Fine whatever; let's just get going." He took off running down the tunnel with Percy right at his heels. His feet pounded against the ground as he ran further and further into the darkness. He whispered to himself as he was running. "Don't worry Rose. We're coming."

(Part eleven: Rose)

Rose woke up on the floor to a woman laughing and her hands bound behind her back. She concentrated on her powers and tied to slip out of her bonds but nothing happened. "Why hello my dear. I'm sorry but those ropes are completely magic proof so no powers today. I can't believe how long it's been since I last saw you." She said smiling. "To bad it'll be the last. After my son finishes off you and your pitiful friends I'll be off to Olympus for my long awaited reward."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Nico and Percy are going to make minced meat out of you and your son and you can have a wonderful time rotting in Tartarus." Rose said in a raspy voice.

"Oh? Don't you remember what happened the last time you and your friend tried to fight me and my son? What was that young man's name, Cole I believe?"

Rose flicked her leg out and connected with her knee bending it the wrong way causing Echidna to roar with pain. "Don't you **ever** say Cole's name you filthy hag." She growled. Echidna gave her a look that gave Medusa's petrifying gaze a run for its money.

"You are going to die a slow and painful death impudent child."

Rose smirked at her but Echidna just turned to a desk and screen on the opposite wall. "Well it looks like your friends finally woke up. Why don't we greet them and let them know that we're here." Echidna said wickedly. She pressed a button on the desk and a red light came on over the top of the screen. "Well I'm glad you two finally woke up, I was afraid that you were going to miss the main event."

Rose saw Nico and Percy standing back to back in a room on the screen. Nico's voice sounded throughout the room. "Echidna what have you done with Rose!"

Echidna smiled at her and laughed. "Oh she's right here." Something flashed out of Echidnas hand and flew across the room. For a split second Rose felt the cold metal of a dagger dig into her left shoulder before it exploded in pain and she screamed. Echidna laughed like a maniac and addressed Nico and Percy again. "If you want to see her again I suggest you hurry, my son is in a hungry mood and the first thing on the list to go is her."

Rose's vision blurred with pain as Echidna pressed the button again and the light turned off. Warm blood ran down her arm and soaked through her hoodie, dripping onto the ground at a slow but steady pace. Echidna came and yanked her dagger out which caused a new wave of pain to flood through Rose's body. She wiped the blade free of crimson blood on Rose's pant leg and smiled when Rose groaned from the pain. "See even if your friends somehow manage to defeat me and my son you'll die of blood loss before they could get you out. Now let's get you into position, I would hate for the star of the show to miss her debut." Rose's vision went black just as Echidna grabbed her and started dragging her out of the room.

**Yes I know that this is really short and that it's a bit of a cliff hanger but as I said before please bare with me. R&R :P**

**P.S. this whole story idea I got from the song Bring me to life by Evanescence, there's a link on my profile if you guys want to here it. **


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